Abstract
Developing low-cost and high-catalytic photocatalysts is momentous to achieve efficient photocatalytic splitting of water to produce hydrogen. In this study, a 0D–3D structure ZnCdS–NiCoP composite was synthesized by a simple physical mixing method. A series of characterization results show that the close bonding of ZnCdS nanoparticles and NiCoP nanorods is conducive to electron transfer between the ZnCdS and NiCoP interface. The sea-urchin-structure NiCoP composed of nanorods could be as an electron acceptor to accelerate the directed migration of electrons. Thereby achieving separation of electrons and holes in space. Sea-urchin-structure NiCoP provides spatial support for ZnCdS, greatly reducing the degree of agglomeration of ZnCdS nanoparticles and increasing the specific surface area of the catalyst. The performance of the visible-light-driven photocatalyst showed that the ZnCdS–NiCoP10 composite had the highest photocatalytic hydrogen production activity, and the amount of hydrogen evolution in the reaction for 5 h was 789.7 μmol, which reached 5.2 times that of pure ZnCdS. The apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of the ZnCdS–NiCoP10 composite was 6.28% at a wavelength of 475 nm. After 5 cycles of reaction, the composite ZnCdS–NiCoP10 maintained long-term stability. Based on the characterization analysis results, a possible mechanism of hydrogen production of by ZnCdS–NiCoP composite catalyst is proposed, which will help to understand the enhance photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity of ZnCdS–NiCoP and may stimulate the synthesis of other 0D–3D catalytic systems.
Graphic Abstract
We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.
Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.
References
Guan Z, Wang P, Li Q, Li G, Yang J (2018) Constructing a ZnIn2S4 nanoparticle/MoS2-RGO nanosheet 0D/2D heterojunction for significantly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic H2 production. Dalton Trans 47:6800
Li X, Xiong J, Ying Xu, Feng Z, Huang J (2019) Defect-assisted surface modification enhances the visible light photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4@C-TiO2 direct Z-scheme heterojunction. Chin J Catal 40:424–433
Zhang L, Hao X, Wang Y, Jin Z, Ma Q (2019) Construction strategy of Mo-S@ Mo-P heterojunction formed with in-situ phosphating Mo-S nanospheres toward efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production. Chem Eng J. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2019.123545
Fang Z, Peng L, Qian Y, Zhang X, Xie Y, Cha JJ, Guihua Yu (2018) Dual tuning of Ni–Co–A (A = P, Se, O) nanosheets by anion substitution and holey engineering for efficient hydrogen evolution. J Am Chem Soc 140:5241–5247
Li K, Chai Bo, Peng T, Mao J, Zan L (2013) Preparation of AgIn5S8/TiO2 heterojunction nanocomposite and its enhanced photocatalytic H2 production property under visible light. ACS Catal 3:170–177
Li X, Xiong J, Huang J, Feng Z, Luo J (2019) Novel g-C3N4/h'ZnTiO3-a'TiO2 direct Z-scheme heterojunction with significantly enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity. J Alloys Compd 774:768–778
Jing D, Zhang Y, Guo L (2005) Study on the synthesis of Ni doped mesoporous TiO2 and its photocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution in aqueous methanol solution. Chem Phys Lett 415:74–78
Hao X, Yang H, Jin Z, Jing Xu, Min S, Gongxuan Lu (2016) Quantum confinement effect of graphene-Like C3N4 nanosheets for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production from water splitting. Acta Phys Chim Sin 32:2581–2592
Jin Z, Zhang L (2020) Performance of Ni-Cu bimetallic co-catalyst g-C3N4 nanosheets for improving hydrogen evolution. J Mater Sci Technol 49:144–156
Jin Z, Li Y, Hao X (2020) Ni, Co-based selenide anchored g-C3N4 for boosting photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Acta Phys Chim Sin 36:1912033
Hao X, Jin Z, Yang H, Gongxuan Lu, Bi Y (2017) Peculiar synergetic effect of MoS2 quantum dots and graphene on Metal-Organic Frameworks for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Appl Catal B 210:45–56
Pan J, Guan Z, Yang J, Li Q (2020) Facile fabrication of ZnIn2S4/SnS2 3D heterostructure for efficient visible-light photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI). Chin J Catal 41:200–208
Guan Z, Zhiqiang Xu, Li Q, Wang P, Li G, Yang J (2018) AgIn5S8 nanoparticles anchored on 2D layered ZnIn2S4 to form 0D/2D heterojunction for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Appl Catal B 227:512–518
Zhang L, Jin Z (2019) Effective electron-hole separation over controllable construction of CdS/Co-Ni-P Core/Shell Nanophotocatalyst for Improved Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Under Visible-Light-Driven. Catal Surv Asia 23:219–230
Jing D, Guo L (2006) A novel method for the preparation of a highly stable and active CdS photocatalyst with a special surface nanostructure. J Phys Chem B 110:11139–11145
Zhu C, Liu C, Zhou Y, Yijun Fu, Guo S, Li H, Zhao S, Huang H, Liu Y, Kang Z (2017) Carbon dots enhance the stability of CdS for visible-light-driven overall water splitting. Appl Catal B 216:114–121
Iwashina K, Iwase K, Hau NGY, Amal R, Kudo A (2015) Z-schematic water splitting into H2 and O2 using metal sulfide as a hydrogen-evolving photocatalyst and reduced graphene oxide as a solid-state electron mediator. J Am Chem Soc 137:604–607
Zhang C, Zhou Y, Bao J, Fang J, Zhao S, Zhang Y, Sheng X, Chen W (2018) Structure regulation of ZnS@g-C3N4/TiO2 nanospheres for efficient photocatalytic H2 production under visible-light irradiation. Chem Eng J 346:226–237
Liu Y, Ma X, Wang H, Li Y, Jin Z (2019) CdS photocorrosion protection by MoSe2 modification for photocatalytic hydrogen production. Catal Surv Asia 23:231–244
Juan Xu, Cao X (2015) Characterization and mechanism of MoS2/CdS composite photocatalyst used for hydrogen production from water splitting under visible light. Chem Eng J 260:642–648
Yong Hu, Gao X, Le Yu, Wang Y, Ning J, Shijie Xu, Lou X (2013) Carbon-coated CdS petalous nanostructures with enhanced photostability and photocatalytic activity. Angew Chem Int Ed 52:5636–5639
Shao Z, Zeng T, He Y, Zhang D, Pu X (2019) A novel magnetically separable CoFe2O4/Cd0.9Zn0.1S photocatalyst with remarkably enhanced H2 evolution activity under visible light irradiation. Chem Eng J 359:485–495
Gong H, Hao X, Jin Z, Ma Q (2019) WP modified the S-scheme Zn0.5Cd0.5S/WO3 for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production. N J Chem 43:19159–19171
Yin X, Li L, Jiang J, Du X, Pang D, Yang J, Li Z, Wang Y, Li X, Li D, Dou J (2019) Noble-metal-free Zn0.5Cd0.5S@MoS2 core @ shell heterostructures for visible-light-driven H2 evolution with enhanced efficiency and stability. Chem Eng J. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2019.121970
Dai D, Wang L, Xiao N, Li S, Xu H, Liu S, Xu B, Lv D, Gao Y, Song W, Ge L, Liu J (2018) In-situ synthesis of Ni2P co-catalyst decorated Zn0.5Cd0.5S nanorods for high-quantum-yield photocatalytic hydrogen production under visible light irradiation. Appl Catal B 233:194–201
He H, Li C, Tian Y, Peng Wu, Hou X (2016) Phosphorescent differential sensing of physiological phosphates with lanthanide Ions-modified Mn-doped ZnCdS quantum dots. Anal Chem 88:5892–5897
Huogen Yu, Huang X, Wang P, Jiaguo Yu (2016) Enhanced photoinduced-stability and photocatalytic activity of CdS by dual amorphous cocatalysts: synergistic effect of Ti(IV)-hole cocatalyst and Ni(II)-electron cocatalyst. J Phys Chem C 120:3722–3730
Jing D, Guo L (2007) Hydrogen production over Fe-doped tantalum oxide from an aqueous methanol solution under the light irradiation. J Phys Chem Solids 68:2363–2369
Juan Wu, Sun Y, Chunhao Gu, Wang T, Xin Y, Chai C, Cui C, Ma D (2018) Pt supported and carbon coated Bi2MoO6 composite for enhanced 2, 4-dibromophenol degradation under visible–light irradiation: Insight into band gap structure and photocatalytic mechanism. Appl Catal B 237:622–632
Wang Y, Yang H, Sun X, Zhang H, Xian To (2020) Preparation and photocatalytic application of ternary n-BaTiO3/Ag/p-AgBr heterostructured photocatalysts for dye degradation. Mater Res Bull 124:110754
Zhao H, Zhang H, Cui G, Dong Y, Wang G, Jiang P, Xiuming Wu, Zhao Na (2018) A photochemical synthesis route to typical transition metal sulfides as highly efficient cocatalyst for hydrogen evolution: from the case of NiS/g-C3N4. Appl Catal B 225:284–290
Zhang Z, Huang L, Zhang J, Wang F, Xie Y, Shang X, Yuyao Gu, Zhao H, Wang X (2018) In situ constructing interfacial contact MoS2/ZnIn2S4 heterostructure for enhancing solar photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Appl Catal B 233:112–119
Yan K, Qin J, Liu Z, Dong B, Chi J, Gao W, Lin J, Chai Y, Liu C (2018) Organic-inorganic hybrids-directed ternary NiFeMoS anemone-like nanorods with scaly surface supported on nickel foam for efficient overall water splitting. Chem Eng J 334:922–931
Le Yu, Xia B, Wang X, Lou X (2016) General formation of M-MoS3 (M = Co, Ni) hollow structures with enhanced electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution. Adv Mater 28:92–97
Attia YA, Buceta D, Blanco-Varela C, Mohamed MB, Barone G, López-Quintela MA (2014) Structure-directing and high-efficiency photocatalytic hydrogen production by Ag clusters. J Am Chem Soc 136:1182–1185
Tian L, Min S, Wang F (2019) Integrating noble-metal-free metallic vanadium carbide cocatalyst with CdS for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic H2 evolution. Appl Catal B 259:118029
Li S, Wang L, Xiao N, Wang A, Li X, Gao Y, Li N, Song W, Ge L, Liu J (2019) In-situ synthesis of ternary metal phosphides NixCo1−xP decorated Zn0.5Cd0.5S nanorods with signifcantly enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production activity. Chem Eng J 378:122220
Sun Z, Zhu M, Lv X, Liu Y, Shi C, Dai Y, Wang A, Majima T (2019) Insight into iron group transition metal phosphides (Fe2P, Co2P, Ni2P) for improving photocatalytic hydrogen generation. Appl Catal B 246:330–336
Li X, Xiong J, Gao X, Ma J, Chen Z, Kang B, Liu J, Li H, Feng Z, Huang J (2020) Novel BP/BiOBr S-scheme nano-heterojunction for enhanced visible-light photocatalytic tetracycline removal and oxygen evolution activity. J Hazard Mater 387:121690
Tian J, Liu Q, Asiri AM, Sun X, Arrays S-S (2014) An efficient 3D hydrogen-evolving cathode over the wide range of pH 0–14. J Am Chem Soc 136:7587–7590
Zhang L, Hao X, Li J, Wang Y, Jin Z (2020) Unique synergistic effects of ZIF-9(Co)-derived cobalt phosphide and CeVO4 heterojunction for efficient hydrogen evolution. Chin J Catal 41:82–94
Cao S, Wang C, Wenfu Fu, Chen Y (2017) Metal phosphides as co-catalysts for photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic water splitting. Chemsuschem 10:4306–4323
Lin Y, Pan Y, Liu S, Sun K, Cheng Y, Liu M, Wang Z, Li X, Zhang J (2019) Construction of multi-dimensional core/shell Ni/NiCoP nano-heterojunction for efficient electrocatalytic water splitting. Appl Catal B 259:118039
Wang Y, Shen G, Zhang Y, Pan L, Zhang X, Zou J (2020) Visible-light-induced unbalanced charge on NiCoP/TiO2 sensitized system for rapid H2 generation from hydrolysis of ammonia borane. Appl Catal B 260:118183
Wang P, Zhan S, Wang H, Xia Y, Hou Q, Zhou Q, Li Y, Kumar RR (2018) Cobalt phosphide nanowires as efficient co-catalyst for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution over Zn0.5Cd0.5S. Appl Catal B 230:210–219
Boon-Junn NG, Putri LK, Kong XY, Shak KPY, Pasbakhsh P, Siang-Piao C, Mohamed AR (2018) Sub-2 nm Pt-decorated Zn0.5Cd0.5S nanocrystals with twin-induced homojunctions for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic H2 evolution. Appl Catal B 224:360–367
Bao T, Song L, Zhang S (2018) Synthesis of carbon quantum dot-doped NiCoP and enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution ability and mechanism. Chem Eng J 351:189–194
Wang Y, Jiang F, Chen J, Sun X, Xian T, Yang H (2020) In Situ construction of CNT/CuS hybrids and their application in photodegradation for removing organic dyes. Nanomaterials 10:178
Tao K, Gong Y, Lin J (2019) Epitaxial grown self-supporting NiSe/Ni3S2/Ni12P5 vertical nanofiber arrays on Ni foam for high performance supercapacitor: matched exposed facets and re-distribution of electron density. Nano Energy 55:65–81
Zhang C, Pu Z, Amiinu IS, Zhao Y, Zhu J, Tang Y, Mu S (2018) Co2P quantum dot embedded N, P dual-doped carbon self-supported electrodes with flexible and binder-free properties for efficient hydrogen evolution reactions. Nanoscale 10:2902–2907
Zhuang M, Xuewu Ou, Dou Y, Zhang L, Zhang Q, Ruizhe Wu, Ding Y, Shao M, Luo Z (2016) Polymer-embedded fabrication of Co2P nanoparticles encapsulated in N, P-Doped graphene for hydrogen generation. Nano Lett 16:4691–4698
Zhou Q, Gong Y, Tao K (2019) Calcination/phosphorization of dual Ni/Co-MOF into NiCoP/C nanohybrid with enhanced electrochemical property for high energy density asymmetric supercapacitor. Electrochim Acta 320:134582
Qin Z, Chen Y, Huang Z, Jinzhan Su, Guo L (2017) A bifunctional NiCoP-based core/shell cocatalyst to promote separate photocatalytic hydrogen and oxygen generation over graphitic carbon nitride. J Mater Chem A 5:19025–19035
Li J, Wei G, Zhu Y, Xi Y, Pan X, Ji Y, Zatovsky IV, Han W (2017) Hierarchical NiCoP nanocone arrays supported on Ni foam as an efficient and stable bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting. J Mater Chem A 5:14828–14837
Sun C, Zhang H, Liu H, Zheng X, Zou W, Dong L, Qi L (2018) Enhanced activity of visible-light photocatalytic H2 evolution of sulfur-doped g-C3N4 photocatalyst via nanoparticle metal Ni as cocatalyst. Appl Catal B 235:66–74
Zeng Y, Li H, Luo J, Yuan J, Wang L, Liu C, Xia Y, Liu M, Luo S, Cai T, Liu S, Crittenden JC (2019) Sea-urchin-structure g-C3N4 with narrow bandgap (˜2.0 eV) for efficient overall water splitting under visible light irradiation. Appl Catal B 249:275–281
Chen J, Lv S, Shen Z, Tian P, Chen J, Li Y (2019) Novel ZnCdS quantum dots engineering for enhanced visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 7:13805–13814
Jiang J, Cao S, Chenglong Hu, Chen C (2017) A comparison study of alkali metal-doped g-C3N4 for visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Chin J Catal 38:1981–1989
Zhen W, Ning X, Yang B, Yuqi Wu, Li Z, Gongxuan Lu (2018) The enhancement of CdS photocatalytic activity for water splitting via antiphotocorrosion by coating Ni2P shell and removing nascent formed oxygen with artificial gill. Appl Catal B 221:243–257
Hao X, Cui Z, Zhou J, Wang Y, Yue Hu, Wang Y, Zou Z (2018) Architecture of high efficient zinc vacancy mediated Z-scheme photocatalyst from metal-organic frameworks. Nano Energy 52:105–116
Chen X, Shi R, Chen Q et al (2019) Three-dimensional porous g-C3N4 for highly efcient photocatalytic overall water splitting. Nano Energy 59:644–650
Qian R, Zong H, Schneider J, Zhou G, Zhao T, Li Y, Yang J, Bahnemann DW, Pan J (2019) Charge carrier trapping, recombination and transfer during TiO2 photocatalysis: An overview. Catal Today 335:78–90
Zhang L, Hao X, Jian Q, Jin Z (2019) Ferrous oxalate dehydrate over CdS as Z-scheme photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. J Solid State Chem 274:286–294
Zong H, Zhao T, Zhou G, Qian R, Feng T, Pan J (2019) Revisiting structural and photocatalytic properties of g-C3N4/TiO2: is surface modification of TiO2 by calcination with urea an effective route to “solar” photocatalyst? Catal Today 335:252–261
Pan J, Jiang Z, Bahnemann DW (2019) Advances in photo(electro)catalysis for environmental applications and chemical synthesis: IPS-22 overview. Catal Today 335:1–12
Li Y, Jin Z, Zhang L, Fan K (2019) Controllable design of Zn-Ni-P on g-C3N4 for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production. Chin J Catal 40:390–402
Harada H, Sakata T, Ueda T (1985) Effect of semiconductor on photocatalytic decomposition of lactic acid. J Am Chem Soc 107:1773–1774
Liu K, Litke A, Su Y, van Campenhout BG, Pidko EA, Hensen EJM (2016) Photocatalytic decarboxylation of lactic acid by Pt/TiO2. Chem Commun 52:11634–11637
Wei W, Tian Q, Sun H, Liu P, Zheng Yi, Fan M, Zhuang J (2020) Efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic H2 evolution over MoO2-C/CdS ternary heterojunction with unique interfacial microstructures. Appl Catal B 260:118153
Huang R, Chen W, Zhang Y, Huang Z, Zhou Y, Yangjin Wu, Lv X (2019) Two dimensional metal-organic frameworks-derived leaf-like Co4S3/CdS composite for enhancing photocatalytic water evolution. J Colloid Interface Sci 554:39–47
Yan X, Jin Z, Zhang Y, Liu H, Ma X (2019) Controllable design of double metal oxide (NiCo2O4) modified CdS for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production. Phys Chem Chem Phys 21:4501–4512
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (21862002, 41663012), the Open Project of State Key Laboratory of High-efficiency Utilization of Coal and Green Chemical Engineering, Ningxia University (2019-KF-36), the Ningxia low-grade resource high value utilization and environmental chemical integration technology innovation team project, North Minzu University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, H., Su, P., Jin, Z. et al. Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution over Sea-Urchin-Structure NiCoP Decorated ZnCdS Photocatalyst. Catal Lett 150, 2937–2950 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-020-03202-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10562-020-03202-2